VOLUME 48, ISSUE 24
THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2015
UC SYSTEM
RESTAURANT WEEK!
94,280 TOTAL APPLICANTS
5.3% FROM 2014
WEEKEND, PAGE 6
OPENING THE DOORS
UCSD Medical Welcomes DACA Opinion, Page 4
SWEEPING SWIMMERS swim/dive's perfect weekend sports, Page 12
FORECAST
THURSDAY H 73 L 46
SATURDAY H 75 L 54
“
FRIDAY
H 73 L 52
SUNDAY
H 72 L 48
Asian American 39.5% Chicano/Latino 27.0% White 24.0% African American 5.1% Other 4.5%
- Jordan Utley-Thomson GUARDIAN WATCH
OPINION, PAGE 4
INSIDE UCSD MEDICAL CENTER.. 3 ADMISSIONS.................... 4 ALBUM REVIEW................ 9 CROSSWORD/SUDOKU... 10 FENCING........................ 12
Total Freshmen:
78,084 (83%) Total Transfers: 16,196 (17%)
Reading(599) Math(647) Writing(613)
Average GPA Freshman: 3.80 Transfer: 3.37
Number Of Undergraduate Applications Continues To Rise By Kyle Somers Associate The University of California Office of the President released statistics on Jan. 12 about the 2015–16 UC applications, which show an increase in freshmen and transfer applicants. The numbers also illustrate a continuing trend toward more Asians, African-Americans and Latinos applying, while Caucasians are making up a smaller portion of the applicant pool. UCSD received 94,280 applications this year, up 5.3 percent from last year. This increase is mostly due to freshmen applications, which were up by 4,647 from last year, totaling 70,532. UCSD has seen between roughly 4,000 and 7,000 more applications every year since 2000. UCSD saw 16,196 transfer applications this year, 0.6 percent more than last year’s 16,100. The number of applying transfers has doubled since 2002. While the number of applications has increased, the admission rate for UCSD has declined from 38 percent in 2010 to 33 percent in 2014. However, the total number of admitted students has been climb-
A&E Editor
ing, from 11,000 in the year 2000 to 24,500 in 2014, a trend consistent across UC campuses. UCOP media specialist Brooke Converse elaborated the University of California system’s plans to enroll more students in the future. “During the economic crisis we increased enrollment rather than cutting it, and we are currently educating 7,000 students for whom we receive no state funding,” Converse told the UCSD Guardian. “We would like to increase enrollment further but need more money to do so. The tuition and financial aid plan passed in November calls for an increase in enrollment of 5,000 students over five years, but that increase is contingent on an increase in funding.” This year, there are a larger number of AfricanAmerican, Asian-American, and Latino/Chicano students applying to the UC system. AfricanAmerican freshmen applicants from California had a 10.6-percent increase since last year, the largest proportionally of all ethnic groups, while in-state freshmen Latinos/Chicanos had the largest total
See APPLICATIONS, page 3
San Diego
Court Sets Trial Date for Sea Lion Odor Lawsuit Citizens for Odor Nuisance Abatement took legal action against the City of San Diego last year. BY Kriti Sarin
Editorial Assistant Residents of the La Jolla Cove are and neighborhood business owners affected by the odor of sea lion feces filed a lawsuit last January against the city of San Diego, demanding that city officials find a solution to the smell. Norm Blumenthal, the attorney representing the La Jolla locals, told the San Diego UnionTribune that a trial date for the lawsuit has been set for May 1. The locals, who have issued several complaints about the stench of sea lion feces over the past few years, formed a nonprofit organization called Citizens for
Gov. Brown Increases University Funding
Tuition increases will continue in spite of Brown allocating 1.6 percent more of his budget to the UC system. BY Zev Hurwitz
UCSD 2015 Admission Statistics Design By // Allison Kubo & Sherman Aline
VERBATIM
MANHATTAN WASN’T REALLY TURNED INTO A GIANT, MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON, BUT BY LOOKING AT THE STATISTICS OF THE TIME, IT CERTAINLY SEEMED LIKE THE INMATES WERE RUNNING THE ASYLUM.”
CALIFORNIA
Mean SAT score
Freshmen & Transfers from California
PHOTO BY CORY WONG
OVER 180 OF SAN DIEGO’S EATERIES ARE PARTICIPATING IN RESTAURANT WEEK FROM JAN. 18 TO 24 WITH PREPARED MANUS OF THEIR BEST FOOD. CHECK OUT OUR GUIDE ON WHAT’S WORTH EATING.
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Odor Nuisance Abatement in late 2013. The following January, the group took legal action against the city of San Diego to urge city officials to look for a way to neutralize the odor. However, San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith is planning to file a motion to dismiss the suit this month. Goldsmith’s communications director Gerry Braun told the UCSD Guardian that, while city officials are responsible for resolving issues like this, members of the city council should be able to exercise their own judgment as representatives of the citizens of San Diego without interference. “The plaintiffs in this case want to substitute their judgment for that
of our elected officials and, by filing a lawsuit, are asking a judge to force the city to do something,” Braun said. “The City Attorney’s Office is opposed to a judge ordering the city to do anything, as the city has no legal obligation to change nature.” When Citizens for Odor Nuisance Abatement was first founded, sea lions were not the only animals who persistently defecated on the bluffs. The smell that enveloped La Jolla Cove was due to a combination of bird droppings and feces from the marine mammals. The city first implemented use of a microbial solution manufactured by Blue Eagle Products that utilizes See SEA LIONS, page 3
Senior Staff Writer California’s two university systems will see increased funding in 2015–16 based on the $164.7 billion budget Gov. Jerry Brown released on Jan. 9. The governor’s proposed plan for the upcoming fiscal year would provide an additional nearly $120 million to the University of California system’s general fund with a catch: To receive the funding, the UC system would need to find a way to freeze tuition hikes for the upcoming year. “With savings achieved through new cost reductions and current efficiency efforts, in combination with the General Fund increases, the administration expects the universities to maintain current tuition and fee levels,” the budget reads. The proposed budget represents an increase of 1.6 percent over the last fiscal year for the UC system and would bring the total operating budget to roughly $7.26 billion — $762 of which is “directly attributable” to the tax increases of the voter-approved 2012 Proposition 30. In addition to the proposed increases to the UC system, Brown’s budget, which comes less than a week after the governor was sworn in for a record fourth term in Sacramento, would provide increases for California State University campuses and the California Community Colleges. Brown’s budget proposal also called for the UC system to cap out-of-state enrollments and set up a stability committee to prevent further budget issues. “All cost containment strategies must be explored before asking California families to pay even more for tuition,” Brown said in a statement on the governor’s official website Jan. 9. At the UC Board of Regents meeting in November, the regents voted to authorize annual 5-percent tuition increases for the next five years unless state funding levels were increased. UC President Janet Napolitano released a statement Friday, Jan. 9 indicating that the governor’s proposed funding to the UC system would be insufficient to stave off the hikes. “While we are disappointed the governor did not include sufficient revenue to expand enrollment of California students and re-invest in academic quality at the university,” Napolitano said. “We are hopeful that continued discussions with the See BUDGET, page 3
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AVERAGE CAT By Christina Carlson Aleksandra Konstantinovic Editor in Chief Andrew E. Huang Managing Editors Taylor Sanderson Tina Butoiu News Editor Charu Mehra Opinion Editor Brandon Yu Sports Editor John Story Associate Sports Editor Teiko Yakobson Features Editor Jacqueline Kim A&E Editor Kyle Somers Associate A&E Editor Nilu Karimi Lifestyle Editor
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Taylor Sanderson Photo Editor Siddharth Atre Associate Photo Editor
UCSD Medical Center Penalized For Poor Safety Score BY Brynna Bolt
staff writer Eight San Diego County hospitals, including the UCSD Medical Center, were among the 271 medical centers penalized in Dec. 2014 by the United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for having Hospital-Acquired Condition scores of seven or higher in 2013. Other local hospitals cited for their HAC scores, a ranking of the degree of patient safety events that occur within the hospital setting, include Scripps Memorial Encinitas, Scripps Mercy, Scripps Green, Sharp Memorial, Sharp Coronado, Palomar and Pomerado. Over 3,000 medical facilities throughout the nation were rated on the 10-point scale, with 10 being the worst possible score. The scores received were weighted between two domains, within which the program analyzed data collected on avoidable hospital errors. The first domain measures patient safety indicators,
such as bed sores, falls and collapsed lungs. The second measures standard infection ratios associated with common medical procedures, such as central line, associated bloodstream infections and catheter-related urinary tract infections. The scores were administered by the HAC Reduction Program, which was established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Starting in the fiscal year of 2015, which began on October 2014 and lasts through September 2015, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services will mandate a 1-percent decrease in Medicare payments to the hospitals that place among those with the highest HAC scores received through the program. The penalties total an estimated $373 million, and one in seven hospitals within the nation will be affected. The fines were imposed days after the federal government announced that, nationally, error rates had dropped by 17 percent
between 2010 and 2013. However, a report issued recently by the United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality estimates that there were 3.9 million preventable hospital incidents in 2013. The cost of preventable adverse events for adults was estimated by the same report to be $22 billion. As the measure is meant to provide an incentive for hospitals to implement new methods that will improve overall patient care, the fines being posed now are more severe than they have been in the past. “In the past, Medicare refused to pay for certain hospital stays that resulted from errors, but this step is more draconian — to reduce overall payments for all cases due to high rates of error,” Director of the Market and Policy Program at the California Healthcare Foundation Maribeth Shannon told the UCSD Guardian. “It is a big revenue hit to hospitals that are heavily dependent on Medicare funding.” As a result of the scores and loss
Joselynn Ordaz Design Editor Elyse Yang Art Editor
of reimbursements, hospitals in San Diego County have improved and adopted new methods to enhance patient care. Scripps Health, a private, nonprofit, integrated health care system, had the most hospitals fined within the county. The organization expects to lose $1.9 billion in Medicare reimbursements. Since the preliminary fines were announced in June, Chief Medical Officer of Scripps Health Dr. James LaBelle told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the hospital has improved its infection-control regimen by increasing cleaning processes for certain catheter and intravenous procedures. The penalties could affect the overall fiscal stability of hospitals that were heavily fined, especially those already in the negative operating margins. However, it is unlikely that patient access to hospitals will be limited as a result.
readers can contact BRYNNA BOLT
BBOLT@ucsd.edu
Annie Liu Associate Art Editor Rosina Garcia Copy Editor Laura Chow Social Media Coordinator Vincent Pham Training and Development
Page Layout Sherman Aline, Allison Kubo, Sidney Gao Copy Readers Andrew Chao, Caroline Lee, Micaela Stone Editorial Assistants Shelby Newallis, Jennifer Grundman, Kriti Sarin, Karly Nisson, Sasha Pollock, Mario Attie, Business Manager Jennifer Mancano Advertising Director Audrey Sechrest Advertising Design Alfredo H. Vilano, Jr. A.S. Graphic Studio The UCSD Guardian is published Mondays and Thursdays during the academic year by UCSD students and for the UCSD community. Reproduction of this newspaper in any form, whether in whole or in part, without permission is strictly prohibited. © 2014, all rights reserved. The UCSD Guardian is not responsible for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or art. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the opinions of the UCSD Guardian, the University of California or Associated Students. The UCSD Guardian is funded by advertising. Porcupines vs. Hedgehogs.
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Looking for the New Business Column? Now posted every Wednesday night, after the A.S. Council meeting, online.
International Students Comprise Largest Proportion Of Transfer Applicants ▶ APPLICATIONS, from page 1
growth over last year, with 839 more applications submitted. Californian freshmen applicants who identify as Asian-American sent in 210 more applications than last year, but this is a slower growth rate compared to other ethnic groups. In-state Caucasians have submitted 110 fewer applications
than last year, contributing to the fastest decline out of the demographic groups applying to UCSD. For transfers from California community colleges, application demographic proportions have stagnated relative to last year, which coincides with a small increase in total transfer application numbers relative to freshmen applications received by UCSD.
The largest increase for transfers was among international students who saw a 5-percent increase in applications over last year, following a continuing trend toward a larger portion of international students in the transfer applicant pool.
readers can contact Kyle Somers
KSomers@ucsd.edu
Budget May Be Altered By The State Legislature Before It Officially Passes ▶ BUDGET, from page 1
governor and the legislature will yield a budget that maintains the access, affordability and excellence for which the University of California [system] is renowned.” The proposed budget can still be modified by the state legislature before a final vote. Brown’s budget is one of several proposed alternatives
to the UC Regents’ tuition increase plan. Speaker of the California State Assembly Toni Atkins proposed an alternative funding plan last year that would raise tuition on out-of-state students only. Meanwhile, several Senate Democrats have cosponsored a bill that would eliminate the Middle Class Scholarship program to offset the need for higher tuition. No plan from the legislature has yet
been finalized. The UC Regents will meet again next month at UC San Francisco’s Mission Bay campus where the regents’ finance committee is scheduled to discuss the governor’s proposed budget in an open session on Jan. 22.
readers can contact Zev Hurwitz
zhurwitz@ucsd.edu
City Parks And Recreation Most Concerned With Safety Of Marine Life ▶ SEA LIONS, from page 1
bacteria that naturally consume the fecal matter. Bill Harris, who is a member of the San Diego Parks and Recreation Department, told the Guardian that while the microbial solution is still a viable option to eradicate the smell, the department is considering other options and has not yet arrived at a decision. “We have found the Blue Eagle
microbial spray to be an effective nonharmful solution to guano buildup and odor reduction, though it does require frequent reapplication to remain so,” Harris said. “It is possible that we will identify some combination of methods, including the microbial spray, as the most permanently effective choice moving forward.” Harris added that handling this problem in a manner that is not detrimental to the local marine life is of utmost importance to city leadership.
“San Diego’s coastline and the marine life that inhabit our shoreline and coastal waterways help to define our civic and personal identities,” Harris said. “We have established strong protections for both and are committed to living up to our responsibilities as good stewards of the environment.”
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OPINION
T H E U C S D G U A R D I A N | T H U R S D A Y, J A N U A R Y 1 5 , 2 0 1 5 | W W W . U C S D G U A R D I A N . O R G
OPINION
CONTACT THE EDITOR
CHARU MEHRA opinion@ucsdguardian.org
EDITORIALS
No Place Like UCSD UCSD received a record number of applications this year, but as more students enroll, overcrowding will become an ever-present problem on our campus.
We Are in the Midst of a Safety Renaissance guardian watch
ILLUSTRATION BY ANNIE LIU
jordan utley-thomson
jutleyth@ucsd.ed
C
W
ith 94,200 freshmen and transfer applications for 2015 Fall Quarter, UCSD claimed the third highest spot among University of California schools for number of applications. Cue the never-ending jokes about our perpetual role playing catch up to UC Berkeley and UCLA. Still, with a 6.4-percent rise in freshmen applications and 2.1-percent rise in transfer applications, it’s apparent that UCSD will continue to grow as students recognize what we have to offer as a university. Correlating with the rise in application numbers will likely be a spike in UCSD’s selectiveness of candidates. And as we pick the best and the brightest, we need to shift our focus to what we can do to distinguish ourselves from other schools, including the perennial champs, UC Berkeley and UCLA, as well as how to grow and diversify our campus in a tenable way. One of the most promising statistics from this year’s application numbers is the rising number of historically underrepresented students who have applied to UC schools. For the first time in history, one-third of California freshman applicants were of Latino origin, a major step for a state whose Latino populations are quickly rising. UCSD itself saw a 7.9-percent rise in applications across all minority groups.
And while that still isn’t much, it’s a major improvement for a campus that has struggled in the past to attract and support underrepresented students in their education. Continuing an emphasis on diversity once students have arrived on campus is important, and spaces like the Black Resource Center and the Raza Resource Centro are essential in this ongoing initiative. It’s also perhaps time to gingerly approach the subject of Division-I athletics once again, keeping in mind that one of the most striking differences between us and the top two UC schools is not academics but a robust sports program. Apart from just unifying the school under a general sense of sportsmanship, Division-I athletics could attract alumni attention and donations, as well as greater national attention. All of these phenomena translate into the prestige seen at our sister UC schools. UCSD’s application numbers will likely climb no matter the presence (or lack thereof) of Division-I sports. Our university is an internationally acclaimed school with all kinds of departmental awards in everything from the hard sciences to performing arts. Third place or not, UCSD is overall a prestigious destination for a
EDITORIAL BOARD Aleksandra Konstantinovic EDITOR IN CHIEF
Andrew E. Huang MANAGING EDITOR
Taylor Sanderson
MANAGING EDITOR
Charu Mehra
OPINION EDITOR
Tina Butoiu NEWS EDITOR
Kriti Sarin
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT The UCSD Guardian is published twice weekly at the University of California at San Diego. Contents © 2014. Views expressed herein represent the majority vote of the editorial board and are not necessarily those of the UC Board of Regents, the ASUCSD or the members of the Guardian staff.
See ADMISSIONS, page 5
UCSD Medical School Opens its Doors to DACA Students Earlier this month, the Association of American Medical Colleges added UCSD’s School of Medicine to its list of medical schools that are willing to consider applicants with a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status. This will enable undocumented students who immigrated to the U.S. as minors to build a viable future for themselves. Since these individuals were children when their families immigrated, they usually had no choice but to adhere to their families’ decisions and therefore should not have to suffer the consequences of a law they did not consciously break. DACA allows these students to establish a life for themselves in what is now their home country. Deporting these individuals would essentially force them to live in an entirely foreign land since they immigrated before they could even develop any strong ties to their place of birth. DACA students are just as “American” as any other students; the only thing that differentiates them is how they arrived to the U.S. Individuals will hardly ever attempt to pursue their innate desires if they believe
they cannot surpass the obstacles standing in their way. Hence, they will stick to the options society allows them to pursue. Even if some students wish to obtain higher degrees of education and work in more profitable fields, many are discouraged by financial and legal barriers that inhibit them from achieving their academic and professional goals. However, the AAMC has created a Fee Assistance Program that provides DACA students with the financial means to obtain a physician’s license. This financial support, along with the nonresident tuition exemptions granted by Assembly Bill 540, gives undocumented students a real chance at achieving the American Dream. Providing DACA students the opportunity to pursue a higher education and become qualified professionals will increase their presence in more selective fields. The idea that minorities are “lazy” and “welfare dependent” can be attributed to a lack of opportunities that other groups enjoy. Stereotypes reflect the values and ideologies of the cultures they are developed in. Hence, the only way to reduce their power and eventually
eliminate them, is to change culture. Opening the doors to the medical field will inevitably help dismantle negative stereotypes because those who want to become doctors now have a legal and relatively affordable way of doing so. Positive views of minorities will be established because people will no longer associate “success” with ethnic backgrounds. As a nation that was founded on tenets of equality, it is imperative that students from diverse financial and cultural backgrounds receive the same opportunities as any other American. Historically, minorities have been severely underrepresented in the medical field. Fortunately, in the past year minority representation has increased as a result of the enrollment of more undocumented students with DACA status to medical programs, consequently promoting diversity in the workforce. If institutions of higher education in other fields show the same enthusiasm toward students with DACA status, society will undoubtedly benefit as a whole because the contributions of these individuals will no longer be stifled by forces they never sought to antagonize.
hances are, even if you have zero interest in politics, you’ve heard and are somewhat interested in the recent backlash over the supposed excessive policing across the nation. You may not have been protesting out on Library Walk about a month ago with duct tape over your mouth, but you’re one of many students who believe that enough is enough. The longer this “broken windows” policing stays, the shorter it takes to realize we may just be living in a police state. But let’s step back a moment. The year is 1992. In California, our violent crime rate reaches a peak of 1,120 per 100,000 residents. In Los Angeles, the city is ravaged over a period of five days by riots that make the Ferguson unrest look like a walk in the park. By the end of the year, LA County has experienced 2,589 murders. Over on the east coast, New York City finally resembles what the 1981 dystopian thriller Escape From New York envisioned. Well, Manhattan wasn’t REALLY turned into a giant maximum-security prison, but by looking at the statistics of the time, it certainly seemed like the inmates were running the asylum. NYC is now one of the safest cities in America, and L.A. isn’t too shabby either. In fact, the country as a whole has seen crime rates plunge to levels not seen since the 1960s. We’re currently going through a renaissance of sorts when it comes to safety — so much that people our age are bucking the trend toward suburban living and instead staying in the city. A generation ago, this was a dangerous idea, and I fear a return to those so-called “bad old days.” Many of us weren’t even born yet: Falling crime rates are all we have ever known, but they are not to take for granted. After the end of World War II, a similar decrease in crime occurred until a large uptick in the late 1960s. Law and order politicians blasted the Earl Warren-led Supreme Court for its expansion of civil liberties, citing a “handcuffing of the police.” The expanded prison populations and tougher policing of the last 25 years has worried today’s Earl Warrens, claiming that an unprecedented erosion of civil liberties has taken place. However, while correlation is not causation, we need to be honest with ourselves in recognizing that our present safety may partly be because of a more aggressive criminal justice system. As of now, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio is the poster boy for reform, but in his short time, he’s done more to divide his city than unite it. In any place, it’s going to take a tough son of a bitch to ensure the balance between civil liberties and security — someone you wouldn’t expect to make the effort, someone impossible to accuse of being “anti-police.” After all, it took the anti-communist Richard Nixon to go to China, Democrat Bill Clinton to reform welfare and Stalwart Chester Arthur to end the very same spoils system of which he himself was a product.
OPINION
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CONFUSED MUSE
GOT ISSUES?
By Elyse Yang
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Minority Resources, D-1 Athletics Are Both Considerations to Keep in Mind ▶ ADMISSIONS, from page 4
student of any major. And so the next logical step is how to manage the ever-expanding influx of students that will descend on our campus at the beginning of every fall quarter. Last year’s response was to convert single dorms into doubles and doubles into triples, thereby piling freshmen into rooms like sardines. It’s up to Housing, Dining and Hospitality to respond to rising application and admissions numbers in a more sustainable and far less comical way. Furthermore, a significant portion of the applicants this year, and in previous years, are
biology and engineering majors who already face impacted classes and overcrowded lecture halls. With more of this talented bunch coming to study at a university renowned for these subjects, we want to make sure they have access to what they need to excel at their areas of study. In classes of over 400 people, a single student is certainly not getting an abundance of personal guidance from his or her professor. And while teaching assistants try to make up for the difference, it’s difficult to build a connection to the professor if the class is watching him or her lecture on a screen from the next room over. While new lecture halls are currently being built, we would like
to see even more spring up over the next few years. Equally important is a better utilization of the space and resources that we already have. The final consideration is a UC systemwide problem as tuition goes up. With increases imminent next year, it’s important that we keep fees low so that the students who are eventually accepted are actually able to attend UCSD. We’re thrilled that our campus is catching the attention of brilliant, young students everywhere. But in order to grow our student body sustainably, we need to ensure that incoming students will have access to facilities that aren’t a fire hazard, as well as the diversity and athletics programs still developing at UCSD.
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ARTS | FOOD & DRINK | LIVING | FILM & TV | MUSIC | THINGS TO DO
WEEKEND
Draft Republic is a novice restaurant that opened last November just across the street from Westfield Shoppingtown UTC. This is a truly San Diego-esque gastropub, well-equipped for your quality weekend night: a “stick to your ribs” menu, table football, pool and Ping-Pong tables, 14 big-screen TVs and a selection of 36 beers on tap. For Restaurant Week, the Draft Republic has prepared a $20 lunch and dinner menu. Customers choose one out of three dishes from each of the three menu sections. First course, second course and dessert sections represent a real fusion of cuisines. On the special Restaurant Week menu, one can find both typical gastropub items such as a burger with hand-cut fries and Stoned Fish Plus Chips, as well as more authentic dishes such as Moroccan-spiced lamb corn dogs or Tuna Tataki (sliced Japanese-style tuna with crispy wonton and guacamole). Affordable, conveniently located and fun, Draft Republic will be a nice choice for your Friday night.
- Olga Golubkova Staff Writer
Draft Republic
Blue Ribbon Artisan Pizzeria
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UCSD
Rated as the best new restaurant by San Diego Magazine, this classy eatery presents delicious gourmet pizzas with house-made ingredients. During Restaurant Week, you will be able to savor a three-course meal for $20, with an opportunity to build your own individual pizza for the entree! The fennel sausage and cremini mushrooms are recommended among the choices of toppings.
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- Yulin Liu Staff Writer
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PHOTO BY HYE SOO KIM /GUARDIAN
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This winter break, I was lucky to have my mom, dad and sister come visit me in Italy. We were in the Tuscan countryside for Christmas, spent New Year’s in Rome and then enjoyed a week in Florence, my summertime stomping grounds. A couple things became very clear to me on this trip. One of them was that my role had changed on this family vacation from just a kid to an official translator. This became evident when I had to translate between two grown men: my dad and an Italian store clerk who was sincerely trying to converse with him, despite the language barrier. I translated back and forth, which was a bit exhausting, but it was nice to see them understand almost everything the other was trying to say. I guess I must have impressed the clerk at the end because he complimented me on my Italian and tried setting me up with his nephew, a true sign of a job well done. The other thing that became painfully clear to me was that, even though I have my “permesso di soggiorno” (resident’s permit) and year-long Italian visa, I am not a European. It’s kind of a weird thing because, after living here for eight months, I feel more European than American. Unfortunately, what I “felt like” didn’t translate to legal documentation when I was trying to get a student discount rate ticket to the Colosseum, and I proudly ordered three regular tickets for my family and one European student ticket for myself. The cranky man behind the window asked for my EU card, so I showed him my resident’s permit and European university student card to which he quickly glanced down and informed me that it’s not valid because I’m not actually European. I don’t know what it was about hearing those words that made me angry. It wasn’t about not getting a discounted rate; it was his blatant way of saying it. Maybe it’s because I am in an immersion program and have spent so much time learning the culture, language and way of life here that it’s a bit off-putting when you realize that no matter what you are still a foreigner and will be treated as such. It’s definitely an eye-opening experience to be treated like an outsider in a country that you feel like you are a part of, even in the most trivial of situations, like buying a ticket for the Colosseum. Living in another country has taught me to be more reflective about cultural differences and that one of the most important reasons for traveling is to force yourself to adapt to a new environment. Not being comfortable all the time makes your mode of thinking intrinsically more open. Being abroad challenges you to deal with the constant mix of emotions — of being happy and sad about being far away from home — and forces you to realize that, even though you may be missing out on things back home, there’s nowhere else in the world that feels more right than where you are right now.
For an event that was first pieced together for the press in the hustle and bustle of the 1992 Democratic National Convention — hey, news reporters have to eat, too, you know — Restaurant Week has come a long way. What started out as a common ground lunch spread metastasized over time into starters, lunch, dinner and dessert. From New York City to Kansas City, Restaurant Week boasts a startlingly high participation rate. Each establishment prepares its prix fixe menu twice a year (September and January) and lets the food speak for itself. Fortunately for us, San Diego has been partaking in this event for the past 10 years and is well-versed in the goings-on. Needless to say, there are a whopping 180 participating restaurants right under our noses, with 24 here in La Jolla, so here’s a guide to help you make the right meal decision.
by Jo s
Shelby Newallis SNEWALLI@ucsd.edu
San Diego’s Top 7
sig n
VINO AND VISAS
Restaurant Week
De
Realizations of a QuasiEuropean
A&E EDITOR // JACQUELINE KIM ENTERTAINMENT@UCSDGUARDIAN.ORG LIFESTYLE EDITOR // NILU KARIMI LIFESTYLE@UCSDGUARDIAN.ORG
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PHOTO BY TAYLOR SANDERSON /GUARDIAN
The Red Door Restaurant & Wine Bar The Red Door Restaurant is San Diego’s best-kept secret. The American family-owned restaurant uses only organic home-produced ingredients for its food. While the price is high, the atmosphere will make you feel at home. Get the Restaurant Week lunch special for only $15. The vegetarian burger, pork belly and fish tacos are to die for! The Luscious Truffles will complete your gourmet experience and will keep you coming back to the door.
Puesto La Jolla
PHOTO BY CORY WONG/GUARDIAN
- Ridho Utama Contributing Writer
Puesto’s Mexican street style takes on the classy Restaurant Week circuit with a $20 dinner and $15 lunch deal. Anything with crispy, melted cheese on it will send your taste buds into an instant state of euphoria. With that in mind, its numerous vegetarian options are equally meatlover-friendly; you won’t be able to tell the difference — everything just melts deliciously in your mouth. And be sure to ask for extra salsa — that stuff is amazing.
- Rachel Huang Senior Staff Writer
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Whisknladle Brockton Villa Gorgeous beachside location, magical outdoor seating, fantastic food for any meal of the day — Brockton Villa is the iconic La Jolla Shores restaurant. While still pricey at $35, the Restaurant Week dinner deal is definitely worth the splurge (the lunch deal is a more manageable $15). Don’t you dare skip out on its seafood, which will most definitely be seasoned to perfection. And as for dessert, Brockton Villa can do absolutely no wrong.
- Rachel Huang Senior Staff Writer North SD
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Located in downtown La Jolla, Whisknladle offers customers farm-fresh American cuisine. The menu is seasonal and constantly changing, offering dishes based on what fruits and vegetables are currently available. During Restaurant Week at Whisknladle, you aren’t limited to a prix fixe menu. Instead, for $50, you can pick any appetizer, entree and dessert off of the regular dinner menu, thus allowing a truly authentic experience.
- Monica McGill Staff Writer
The Prado at Balboa Park Located within Balboa Park’s multitude of museums, gardens and walking trails, The Prado is one of San Diego’s most desirable dining options. Its $15 Restaurant Week lunch menu includes, but is not limited to, a unique sweet potato and ginger soup, vegetable risotto and a chocolate-hazelnut mousse bar, all of which you can munch on inside or outside on the patio, which overlooks both a cascading tile fountain and a historical wishing well. Doesn’t stray too far from the backdrop of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, now does it?
- Nilu Karimi Lifestyle Editor South SD
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The Grass is Greener... at UCLA An insider account of the UC exchange program Written by Christian Gella // Staff Writer
A
n older sister school of UCSD, UCLA is tucked comfortably in the heart of Los Angeles with Westwood, Hollywood and Beverly Hills caressing the campus’ contours. The question is, are the students of Los Angeles really living that lavish SoCal dream? La Jolla has its perks and all, but they falter in comparison to Westwood, which is a five-minute walk from the UCLA campus. This ain’t no apples and oranges; the Apples to Apples cards for Westwood are extravagant, lively and bustling — and then some. So for UCLA to be right in the middle of that clamor is nothing but a boon, especially when red carpet events can happen so close to — or directly on — the campus, such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle premiere in Westwood and the Teen Choice Awards. After studying at UCLA for one summer session, it becomes clear how secluded UCSD is in its own bubble. UCLA’s residential halls are somewhat akin to UCSD’s six college system; they don’t directly affect general education requirements, but one go-to conversation starter the friendly UCLA student body uses is “What hall are you in?” There probably is a social hierarchy of preferences, but when your residential halls look like old Hollywood hotels, each with a five-star dining hall (they’re nationally ranked), then it’s like you’re vying for the top position when you’re already perched at the top of the pyramid. Now, I’m not talking some crusty-ass pizza from Ocean View Terrace. Hell naw. Y’all want flatbread and some stir-fry ethnic cuisine? How about you add some grilled cheese and a top-notch salad bar to that, plus a selection from the large platters of dessert? All you can eat, and that’s just “Feast!” from UCLA’s Rieber Hall. According to some insider info, the “au courant” — that means “hipster” in French — cafes and dining halls have so many more options (apparently Bruin Plate is top-notch). UCSD’s market system doesn’t exactly exist at UCLA, per se, but UCLA does have small cafes where you can get a modest, yet filling, meal for just one swipe. The entire UCLA campus is divided between the residential hall area and the actual university campus, which is situated at the bottom of the hill. If you thought a walk from Sixth to Revelle was hell incarnate, UCLA puts this to shame. Unfortunately, there’s no shuttle system to boot, which makes this task all the more drudging. Now, the UCLA campus itself isn’t massive when it comes to area. The Stanford-inspired buildings give the impression that it’s huge, but that’s not the case when they’re placed wall-to-wall, unlike UCSD’s “place a building here and one there.” Of course, the term “Stanford-inspired” should be taken lightly considering UCLA really does hold its own when it comes to architecture; there could be an entire compendium of movies and television shows that were shot on this campus. Hint: It should be mandatory that everyone explores Melnitz Hall. This building, stowed far in the northernmost area of campus, contains a collection of movie posters and artifacts from UCLA alumni. It is a sight to behold. Furthermore, the design is impeccably suited to the student body, as the northern half of the campus houses the arts and humanities, while the southern complimentary possesses space for science majors. Now, let go of your frozen UCSD mentality, Elsa: The UCLA campus spans about five minutes in walking distance. Glorious. Fear not for the disparaging UCSD comments; San Diego has its own bolstering traits, such as an unmatched engineering program and a unique residential college system. But as a sister school to such a great university system, there is a lot to appreciate about the UCLA campus.
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ALBUM REVIEW FILM REVIEW
onward and sideways by Joshua radin Release Date Jan. 6
Inherent vice PHOTO COURTESTY OF NY POST
Paul Thomas Anderson’s psychedelic-noir comedy is as humorous as it is frustratingly incoherent. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon Rated R Release Date Jan. 9 In a recent interview with ABC News, actor Josh Brolin recommended the best way to see “Inherent Vice” is “to take a massive bong hit, then go see this movie.” And quite frankly, it seems to be the best way to absorb Paul Thomas Anderson’s newest psychedelic venture. Anderson has always been interested in telling stories closely following a single character’s perspective, starting with the relatively straightforward 1997’s “Boogie Nights.” With his recent films, his protagonist’s perspective has also come to frame the narrative itself. 2007’s “There Will Be Blood” used the brooding and escalating mood of the film to echo Daniel Plainview’s internal state, and the disjointed scenes of 2012’s “The Master” conveyed Freddie Quell’s alcoholism and discombobulation. “Inherent Vice” continues this trend with a sizable leap. An adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s detective novel of the same name, the plot spins around private investigator Doc Sportello’s (Joaquin Phoenix) ambles through a drug-fueled 70s Los Angeles after a former girlfriend
(Katherine Waterston) tips him off about a plot against a real estate mogul. From the get-go, this film purposefully tries to make its narrative feel like a long and confusing drug trip, with various scenes walking the fine line between reality and absurdity. Early on, when a TV advertisement suddenly talks to Doc directly, it’s clear that this will be a pretty convoluted journey. Coupled with this feeling of drug inducement, the central plot is hardly understandable for a first-time viewer. After an initial setup featuring dialogue that seems intentionally mumbled, Doc’s investigation quickly gets lost in a maze of other players, including undercover cops, cults and whores with golden hearts, all of whom stumble into the storyline only to throw the barely defined central story into another direction. And that’s not to mention the heroin-addled narrator (Joanna Newsom) who seems to hinder rather than help the viewer. Perhaps for Pynchon fans, none of this incoherence is bothersome. The reclusive author is legendary for
writing dense and cryptic rambles on issues from counterculture to arcane mathematics, laced with drug use and paranoia. But even at 148 minutes, there’s too little time here to truly absorb the intricacies of the plot, so instead the film’s mixture of slapstick and dark humor takes center stage. Luckily in this department, “Inherent Vice” shines. In one particular scene, Joaquin Phoenix delivers more laughs than any straightforward comedy film did this year with a mere disgruntled facial expression concerning Detective Bigfoot’s (Josh Brolin) penchant for eating frozen bananas in a lascivious manner. There are important themes glimpsed beneath the waves of noir talk and drug-induced humor here. But Anderson never quite delves into them, perhaps out of fear that it could easily devolve into a forceful and self-important lecture about the ‘70s counterculture and the lost tribes of California junkies. Instead, “Inherent Vice” floats cozily on the plentiful clouds of marijuana smoke, drifting from encounter to encounter. The end effect is a hilarious, dark and weird psychedelic trip that might be confusing and without major payoff but is still quite groovy, man.
— Dieter Joubert
senior staff WRITER
Cleveland-based singer-songwriter’s album of love songs doesn’t break new ground, for better or for worse. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is an adage that generally doesn’t sit well in the music industry. It seems that every few years, musicians re-invent themselves, crossing over from one genre into another. If the artist is fairly talented, this works out pretty well, since they get to show off their so-called “range” or “growth” or whatever. This was no exception last year when the indie music scene trashed their acoustic guitars to start tinkering around with synthesizers and created music that sounded like what a robot would make. But it seems that the new year hasn’t necessarily ushered forth the electronica trend, as folk singer-songwriter Joshua Radin rung in 2015 with his sixth studio album “Onward and Sideways.” Compared to his 2013 release “Wax Wings,” this newer full-length hasn’t broken any new ground in Radin’s discography, much less in indie folk music. There’s still the deliberately plucked guitar, Radin’s gentle tenor and his lyrics, which are still oh-so-sweet without overloaded with cloyingness. With hushed male and female vocals that evoke a sense of calm nostalgia, “In Your Hands,” for example, could easily be a track on another Radin album. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing, as Radin is simply doing what he does best, and his best is intimate and charming, the kind of tunes that usually end up on a clever romcom’s soundtrack. (It makes sense, then, that “Onward” has a rather cinematic beginning, crafted in a
hotel in Stockholm as a musical love letter.) Although, for the most part, the album crawls sideways rather than striding onward, there are quite a few gems that hint at Radin’s maturing sound. His breathy vocals dance along the floating melody of “Angels,” a sonically intricate song that is more polished than his other works without feeling overproduced. Meanwhile, “Belong” brings a steady drumbeat that only enhances the catchiness of the tune, albeit the rhythm feels lifted straight from a track from his folksy peers, The Lumineers. But in case there were any doubts that “Onward” is a repeat of his past work, Radin re-recorded his 2013 song “Beautiful Day.” Its inclusion doesn’t add much to “Onward,” since the melody and lyrics are exactly the same as before — the only change is that it includes Sheryl Crow’s twang for a duet. Despite her usually dominant powerhouse vocals, Crow luckily doesn’t overshadow Radin’s voice, but the track isn’t an improvement on what was already a charismatic, rollicking tune. Nevertheless, it shows how comfortable Radin is in his own skin and unintentionally proves him to be a much better musician when he sticks to what he knows. “Onward and Sideways” is ultimately another testament that Radin’s music ain’t broke, so he won’t fix it — and, hopefully, he hasn’t made any New Year’s resolutions that he will.
— Jacqueline Kim
A&E Editor
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Swim/Dive Will Close Out Regular Season in Coming Weeks Rugby to Begin Regular Season on Saturday ▶ SWIM/DIVE, from page 12
▶ W. RUGBY, from page 12
that ‘we’re going to go 1-2-3,’” Falcon said. “To see him get that win in such a pressured situation was gratifying.” Young talent also showed promise as freshman Kevin Wylder took the top spot in the 50-yard freestyle (21.40) and the 100-yard butterfly (50.71). “Kevin Wylder also had maybe his best meet of the season,” Falcon said. “He’s getting better and better as he gets used to things at the collegiate level and is starting to show the potential that we knew he had.” Senior diver Adam Springer won the one-meter dive with a season best of 269.10 points. He finished third on the three-meter springboard with a score of 281.80 points. UCSD looks to close out the regular season at home with one last upcoming meet for the men’s team and two for the women’s. Both squads will face off against Califor-
right side, bringing the score to 12–5. By beating out the Aggies in the semifinal round, the girls had another opportunity to face the hosting team. However, the girls quickly fell behind again by 20 after the first half. UCSD then adjusted to the Stanford offense and outscored them 12–7 in the sec-
ond half but failed to overcome the initial deficit, losing by a 26–12 score. UCSD women’s club rugby will see initial regular season action on Saturday, Jan. 17 against University of Arizona at home on Warren Field at 11 a.m.
readers can contact brittney vierra
sportsclubs@ucsd.edu
Fencing Will Next Compete in West Invite ▶ FENCING, from page 12
PHOTO BY MEGAN LAO/GUARDIAN FILE
nia Baptist University on Saturday, Jan. 17, while the women alone will compete against University of San Diego on Saturday, Jan. 31. Following their final meets, the Tritons will prepare themselves for the post-
season, starting with conference championships in mid-February.
readers can contact clay kaufman
gckaufma@ucsd.edu
ish in seventh in the team men’s foil. In the saber, junior sabrist Drew Dickinson placed 33rd. Dickinson, Meckling and Zilinskiy together took eighth in the team saber competition. UCSD struggled the most in the epee, as its highest individual finish came from sophomore epeeist Sean Callaghan, who finished 143rd. On the women’s side, the Tri-
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tons were a little quieter as only four athletes represented UCSD. Junior sabrist Megan Gesner placed the highest at 85th overall in the women’s individual saber competition. The Tritons will now travel to Colorado Springs to compete in the West Invitational to compete on Saturday, Jan. 17.
readers can contact john story
jstory@ucsd.edu
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W. Basketball M. Basketball Swim/Dive W. Tennis Fencing
SWIM/DIVE
Tritons Sweep D-I Foes
The Triton women easily defeat LMU and CSUB, while men take hard-earned win against CSUB. BY CLAY KAUFMAN STAFF WRITER // PHOTOS BY BEATRIZ BAJUELOS
1/16 1/16 1/17 1/17 1/17
AT Cal State L.A. AT Cal State L.A. VS. Cal Baptist University AT UC Irvine AT West Invitational
Who To Watch For This Winter Season Full Court Press
Brandon yu
bcyu@ucsd.edu
W
hile the rest of the school settled in last weekend after a short winter break, the men and women of the UCSD swimming and diving teams were already on the move, heading north toward Los Angeles, where the Tritons dominated in a dual meet against Division-I opponents Loyola Marymount University and Cal State Bakersfield. The No. 4 nationally ranked women’s team defeated host Loyola Marymount and Cal State Bakersfield with scores of 185–108 and 172–128, respectively. The No. 7 men’s team, who only faced off against Bakersfield, beat the Roadrunners by a score of 160–139. “Being able to go 3–0 against a pair of Division-I opponents on the road in adverse conditions (persistent rain) is always nice,” UCSD women’s swimming and diving head coach Corrie Falcon told the UCSD Athletics Department. With the weekend’s success, the Tri-
ton women improved to 7–3 overall, while the men moved up to 5–3 on the season. Though many UCSD athletes performed admirably during the defeat of their foes, sophomore Austine Lee’s performances not only outshone all others but also significantly aided the women’s side in their sweep. She won the 100 (1:05.65) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:22.24), leading a 1-2-3 Triton sweep in both races, ahead of senior Eva Chen and sophomore Jaimie Bryan each time. In the 50-yard freestyle, she finished second (24.16), while junior Colleen Daley finished closely behind in third (24.73). Lee also led off a team of Bryan, senior Jaclyn Amog and Daley in a firstplace finish in the 200-yard medley (1:46.91). “This was a pretty comfortable win against both [Loyola Marymount] and [Cal State] Bakersfield on the women’s side,” Falcon said. “There were any number of solid swims, but we really crushed them in the
FENCING
breaststroke, going 1-2-3 in both the 100 and 200. Austine Lee was probably our best swimmer today.” On the men’s side, sophomore Zachary Yong, won the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:08.34. Yong’s time was less than a second in front of teammate junior AJ Zavala who finished the race at 2:09.23, while Triton freshman Josh Lo took third (2:11.64). Zavala, however, beat Yong in the 100-yard breaststroke by a little more than a second, with the pair finishing with times of 58.48 and 59.62, respectively. UCSD also swept the podium in the 200-yard individual medley, with Yong (1:56.05) and Zavala (1:56.47) again taking first and second, respectively, while freshman Kevin Fink finished in third (1:58.02). “Zach had won the 200-[yard] breaststroke earlier and told me right before the [individual medley] See SWIM/DIVE, page 11
WOMEN'S CLUB RUGBY
Men’s Team Foil Win Silver Tritons Conclude Preseason Tritons faced tough matchups at North American Cup. Rugby falls in finals of Stanford Collegiate Invite. compiled by
brittney vierra
BY john story
Staff Writer This past weekend the UCSD fencing team traveled to Salt Lake City to compete in the North American Cup. The Tritons’ best finish came on the men’s side via the foil team of junior Eduard Zilinskiy, senior Jeffrey Chan and freshman David Hadler, who took the silver medal together. The four-day competition began with the men’s individual foil on Friday.
Hadler earned a 27th place finish in the men’s foil — the highest individual finish of any Triton in the tournament — while Zilinskiy and freshman Nicholas Phan took 94th and 98th, respectively. Apart from Zilinskiy, Chan and Hadler’s collective second-place finish, the younger team of freshman Warren Chen, Phan, Alex Okamoto and sophomore foilist Mitchell Shulman went on to finSee FENCING, page 11
UCSD women’s rugby team ended the preseason with a trip to Northern California to compete in the Stanford Women’s Rugby Collegiate Invitational. The Tritons had a second-place finish that was nearly identical to last year’s tournament, ultimately losing to host Stanford University 26–12 in the final match. The Tritons’ first opponent was University of Oregon, which put up a fierce battle. Despite letting up a late score by the opponent, which tipped the score 7–5 in UCSD’s favor, the Oregon kicker missed the crucial conversion, allowing the blue and gold to take the win. The second game was played against Western Washington University. UCSD was able to maintain a comfortable lead throughout the game and was
afforded the opportunity to allow starters to rest by subbing from the bench. Saturday’s last match was against the Stanford Cardinals and resulted in a 26-point shutout win by the host. Despite the loss, UCSD finished second in its pool and would advance to a semifinal bout with UC Davis the following day. In the semifinal, UCSD fell behind 5–0 during the first half of the match and was feeling a lot of pressure from the Aggies. However, toward the end of the second half, the Triton women capitalized on an overload on the left side of the field and were able to pass it out for a score and a conversion, leading UC Davis 7–5. A few possessions later, with less than two minutes remaining of the match, the Tritons were able to take a slightly bigger lead by scoring on the See W. RUGBY, page 11
As the oft-doomed Sean Bean once proclaimed (because what are competitive sports but an annual game of thrones, after all?), “Prepare yourself. Winter is coming.” And with the arrival of the winter season of UCSD athletics comes the promise of great moments to be made by those in uniforms of blue and gold. Bolstering that anticipation are many Triton athletes who are poised to have spectacular seasons and to lead their respective UCSD squads to new heights. Take a look at just a handful of these players (arranged in no particular order) who I am excited to watch in the coming months. #1 Farrah Shokoor: Some months ago, junior forward Farrah Shokoor had absolutely no affiliation with UCSD. The San Diego native had spent her past two seasons playing for the California Collegiate Athletic Association’s perennial bottom-dwelling San Francisco State University. Then she transferred to UCSD this year and, in only 13 games for the Tritons, has emerged as perhaps their most reliable and dominant starter. Shokoor is leading the basketball team in points per game (15.3), rebounds per game (12.2), blocks and steals. With UCSD currently riding a five-game winning streak and finding its rhythm as one of the CCAA’s top contenders, Shokoor’s stock is only looking to rise. #2 Drew Dyer: After a strong season last year, junior forward Drew Dyer has stepped up his game in a necessary time. The Tritons are without any seniors, and the 6-foot-6-inch player has emerged as a veteran leader. He leads UCSD in points per game (13.4) and has dramatically improved his shooting percentage from beyond the arc (29–58, 0.500), free-throw line (32–37, 0.865) and overall from the field (50–102, 0.490). But Dyer’s rise is really only indicative of a strong collective Triton effort. While UCSD was pegged to be somewhat doomed in the conference this season, the Tritons appear to slowly be hitting their stride. With Dyer at the helm of a solid ensemble, UCSD is presenting itself as the CCAA’s true dark horse. #3 Jolene Guiliana: While the spotlight for the women’s water polo team has been fixated upon superstar Sarah Lizotte over the past few seasons, senior attacker Jolene Guiliana has quietly been honing her abilities and getting better every year. Last season, Guiliana put up an all-around performance of 73 goals, 51 assists and 46 steals, only further solidifying her incredibly capable abilities on both ends of the pool. With Lizotte now gone, the Tritons have a hole to fill in the category of definitive leader. But all indications point toward Guiliana seizing that role and thriving in it. #4 Troy Cruz: Last season, junior infielder and pitcher Troy Cruz was the only Triton to start in every single game for the UCSD men’s baseball team. But he did not only make an impact as a consistent starter — Cruz was spectacular both as an infielder and as a pitcher. He batted an impressive 0.329 and amazingly went on to post a 2.90 ERA with an 8–3 record as a starting pitcher through a team-high 87.0 innings on the mound — and this all in only his sophomore season. Cruz was impressively good, but as he enters his junior year, he is bound to only get better.